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Finally, LOONS!!!



Howdy!

Oh, and a cute Green-tailed Towhee, too! Looks like we weren't the only
ones driving to Southport from the Triangle this weekend. I was
surprised there weren't other birders when we arrived at the towhee spot
this morning, just before eight. He came out shortly after we arrived.
At first he was there for maybe a minute at a time, but then he hung
around for awhile, giving us great views of him scratching the ground
for food. It was a treat to be serenaded by meadowlarks, bluebirds, and
cardinals while watching the towhee and various sparrows. The Painted
Bunting never showed during our hour there.

We actually left Raleigh yesterday, with two out-of-the-way birding
stops on our way to Wilmington. The first was at Jones Lake SP where a
Hermit Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet, cardinal, Pine and Yellow-rumped
Warblers, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Towhee, and Carolina Wren greeted us
at the entrance. I told Joe I liked the park already! No ducks on the
water, but we were delighted to see a flock of 15 waxwings, active
bluebirds, and a Brown-headed Nuthatch drilling a hole in a tree trunk.
Next stop was Lake Waccamaw. That's were we saw LOONS!!!! At least 12
Common Loons on the lake!  There were also Bufflehead and scaup and a
big flock of coots. A Pileated Woodpecker flew across the road on the
way in, continuing our streak of flying Pileateds in NC. One day we'll
see one perched again!

On to Wilmington and Greenfield Lake where we found the Eurasion Wigeon
along with American Wigeon, Hooded Merganser, Gadwall, Mallard, and
Pied-billed Grebe. Two adorable, talkative chickadees flew close to us
on a branch as were were looking at the ducks(and I didn't have my
camera with me!). Any day you see loons and chickadees is a great
day!!!!

Back to today. After seeing the towhee, we took the ferry to Ft. Fisher.
We estimated 30 American Oystercatchers at Federal Point, but no
godwits. There were also Red-breasted Mergansers, Willets, Ruddy
Turnstones, gannets, and pelicans. We found the Redhead on the pond
along the Basin Trail. Today was another great day since we saw
Red-throated Loons on the beach!! It was cold and windy, but the sun was
shining brightly, and the sky and beach were a beautiful blue. I laid
down to rest on the beach, soaking in the feeling. It was a very nice
birding weekend!!

Happy birding!! Karen Bearden
Raleigh
chickadeebirders@earthlink.net